Episode 38: Party Beyond The Stars!

Bob, Larry, and Karen live at 7 Star Bar & Grill

Through the miracle of audio recording, we transport you now to our first ever listener's party! Held on October 20th, 2019, at the 7 Stars Bar & Grill in San Jose, Commander Larry and Engineer Bob were live, in-person, while Recon Officer Karen was beamed in via the interociter. We were joined by a few dozen friends and fans to celebrate our first fun year of podcasting. It was a chance to hang out, listen to tunes, enjoy some food and drink, and even do a show in front of a live audience! And that's what you're about to listen to now. Many thanks to the 7 Stars Bar & Grill for hosting us.

Sean and Jessica from the South Bay Lightsaber Club

First up we have Sean and Jessica from the South Bay Lightsaber Club, who show off one of their cool lightsabers, one that was made at the Star Wars Galaxies' Edge park at Disneyland. Sean shares some tips and tricks about how to make a lightsaber at the park.

Ensign Jasmine gets promoted

Newly-promoted Lt. Debby celebrates 

This celebration was also a momentous occasion: Planet 8 crew members Ensign Debby and Ensign Jasmine were both promoted to Lieutenant for all of their help with the podcast, and keeping everything running smoothly on Planet 8! Congrats to Debby and Jasmine.

Don Bishop shows off his prize

Cosplayer Don Bishop shares his know-how on putting together fantastic sci-fi costumes and discusses the most complicated outfits he ever assembled, including the Mugato from Star Trek! Don was dressed as Taylor from Planet of the Apes while visiting our Planet 8 fest!

Joe Tarquini and Mike McCreery from Mantiques

We had a chance to speak with Joe Tarquini and Mike McCreery, co-owners of Mantiques, the store with everything a geek could ever want, in Niles, California. Mike was also the DJ for the day! If you're looking for something unique for your collection, you need to pop into Mantiques.

Gail and Ray Orwig return!

Finally, friends of the show Ray and Gail Orwig, authors of the wonderful Where Monsters Walk, made a return appearance and told us about their upcoming book which will focus on sci-fi and fantasy serials from 1919 to the 1950s, about 50 different ones in all. This is another labor of love for the couple and is sure to be as entertaining as their first one!

Your crew gave out a bunch of prizes to folks who were brave enough to spin the Planet 8 Wheel of Fate. For all of you who couldn't attend but are listening, consider yourself honorary Planet 8 No-Prize winners!

Thanks for being such a great bunch of listeners! You are the reason we do this crazy podcast! You can give us feedback, criticism, or even kind remarks in the comments section here, or at our other haunts:

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Thanks for listening!

Episode 32: A Blast from Creatures Con!

Commander Larry and Chief Engineer Bob made the visit to Creatures Con again this year and we have some great interviews to share (Recon Officer Karen was stuck in the satellite with a bad case of Venusian flu). 

Michael McCreery, proprietor of Mantiques in Fremont, California, shares with the boys his unique collectible, the Mecha-Creech! This modern day chimera is truly something to behold. Check the Sensor Sweep below to learn about this fantastic beast. And if you're ever in Fremont, stop at Mantiques at 37671 Niles Boulevard - you won't believe all the cool stuff there!

Returning guest C. Andrew Nelson, know to us for playing Darth Vader in many video games and other Lucas projects,  tells us about his latest project, Theme Parkology! If you have an interest in Disneyland and other theme parks, you'll want to hear about this new series that will explore the origins of various parks and their attractions. You can find Andrew at http://candrewnelson.com/, and you can see his amazing video fish tank at Aquatasy.

The multi-talented Strephon Taylor discusses the efforts to bring Creepy Koffee Movie Time to Amazon Prime, as well as the many documentaries he has produced over the years, including his recent one, I Believe in Halloween, and Jack Pierce, Maker of Monsters. You can find Strephon's movies at Novemberfire.com.

Our last guest was the man, the myth, the legend, the great John Stanley! John is well known in the Bay Area as the second host of Creature Features, the show started by Bob Wilkins which inspired so many people. John was a film critic for the San Francisco Chronicle for over 30 years, and besides hosting Creature Features, he has authored a number of books, including the notable Creature Features film guides. John is always a pleasure to talk to and he graciously spoke with us about his many projects, past and present. You can see John's work at http://creaturesatlarge.com/ and http://stanleybooks.net/catchall.htm.

Our Sensor Sweep this week is by Commander Larry and features the amazing Mecha-Creech. This vinyl figure is part Creature from the Black Lagoon, part Godzilla, and a crazed montage of skateboarding, heavy metal, and other references! Truly a wonder of the modern day.

Thanks again to our friends Lord Blood-Rah and Tom Wyrsch for putting on Creatures-Con and for having us once again! We had a blast! We're already looking forward to next year!

We hope you got a good taste of Creatures Con. Please share your thoughts, here, or at our other listening posts:

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Thanks for Listening!